1. IECEx Industry Seminar Integrating IECEx and ATEX for Europe
Ron Sinclair Managing Director – Baseefa

2. ATEX Directive 94/9/EC
Council Directive 94/9/EC of 23 March 1994 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning Equipment and Protective Systems intended for use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres
ATEX = “Atmosphere Explosible” = Potentially Explosive Atmosphere

3. ATEX Directive 94/9/EC
Applicable throughout European Economic Area (EEA)
= EU (25)+ EFTA (3) (+Switzerland) = 29
Voluntary application since 1996
Compulsory application since 2003
It is a “Trading Directive”
Concerns safety only to set minimum levels to prevent concerns on safety being a barrier to trade

4. ATEX Directive 94/9/EC Broad Scope
Equipment (Motors, Luminaires, Diesel Engines, Pumps, Fans, Conveyor Belts Instrumentation, etc.)
Protective Systems (Flame Arresters, Suppression Systems, Venting, etc.)
Safety Related Devices (IS Safety Barriers, Motor Protection Relays, etc.)

5. ATEX Directive 94/9/EC
Compliance against “The Essential Health and Safety Requirements” (EHSRs) from Annex II
Standards have a subsidiary role supporting claims of compliance
Harmonised standards are deemed to demonstrate compliance
Use of other standards has to be justified

6. ATEX Directive 94/9/EC
Compliance against EHSRs to be reviewed against “State of the Art” of technological development
Harmonised standards are presumed to show “State of the Art”
Other standards may be even more valid but justification for use must be provided

7. ATEX – Is it Certification ?
ATEX is a mandatory legal device
Only partly certification
Process depends on Category
The key document, “The Declaration of Conformity” (DoC) is always issued by the manufacturer without any monitoring by a third party
The DoC may, or may not, be reliant on evidence from a third party

8. IECEx vs ATEX
IECEx is a true Type 5 Certification Scheme for all equipment, giving the identical level of confidence for everything
ATEX only approaches Type 5 level for Category 1 Equipment and Protective Systems, giving progressively lower confidence for the lower Categories

9. IECEx vs ATEX IECEx ATEX Category 1 (or Cat. 2 electrical)
ExTR + QAR >> Certificate of Conformity (issued by IECEx Certification Body and searchable on IECEx web site)
ATEX Category 1 (or Cat. 2 electrical)
EC-Type Examination Certificate + Quality Assurance Notification (or ??) >> Declaration of Conformity (issued by manufacturer on own responsibility)

10. IECEx vs ATEX IECEx ATEX Cat. 2 non-elec. + Cat 3
ExTR + QAR >> Certificate of Conformity (issued by IECEx Certification Body and searchable on IECEx web site)
ATEX Cat. 2 non-elec. + Cat 3
Manufacturer constructed Technical File >> Declaration of Conformity (issued by manufacturer on own responsibility)

11. ATEX Advantages Flexibility BUT
need not stick to exact wording of standards if alternative justification against EHSRs is contained in Technical File
BUT
Not transparent as the only publicly available document is the Declaration of Conformity
Technical file invisible to purchaser

12. IECEx Advantages Transparency >> Confidence BUT
Conformity is exactly against requirements in declared IEC Standards and Certificates are available on web site
BUT
Cannot use useful developments in draft standards until finally published and included in ExCB scope

13. ATEX Advantages Notified Bodies are readily appointed by Member States
Plenty of choice for manufacturers
BUT
Some bodies have limited expertise and basis for notification is not clear
Some bodies treat essentials (such as provision of a report) as a chargeable extra

14. IECEx Advantages
Appointment of ExCBs and ExTLs is by a system of peer assessment
Transparent and leads to mutual confidence
Reporting is obligatory and subject to random peer review
Leads to customer confidence in the scheme and therefore value of certificates
BUT
Prevents those that may be so inclined from cutting corners

15. The Route for Europe Target End Point Problem
IECEx Certificates of Conformity fully accepted without further paperwork
Problem
IECEx is about Safety
ATEX is about Trade
European Commission would need to change the whole structure of its approach to trading directives !

16. The Route for Europe Interim Solution 1
IECEx Documentation accepted with an ATEX “Cover Sheet”
All the technical work is done once within the IECEx framework
Possible currently for all series standards except Ex ‘i’
Possible for all series standards as soon as next edition of is published

17. Interim Solution 1 Works best when single body does all the work
ATEX QAN based on IECEx QAR
EC-Type Examination Certificate based on ExTR
N.B. Purpose of IECEx CoC and EC-Type Examination Certificate are different

18. Interim Solution 2 Involving two certification bodies
One outside Europe
One inside Europe
Need for additional report to show how the ExTR is accepted for ATEX
Need for QAN based on QAR
Issues of accreditation, notification and public liability insurance for the European Body

19. Interim Solution 2
The ATEX Notified Body has to take full legal responsibility and show the necessary paperwork
The Notified Body is responsible to the European Commission via its national government

20. The Paper Trail All certification activities require a paper trail
The IECEx Scheme paper trail is prescribed to a major extent within the scheme
The ATEX Directive does not prescribe particular forms of paperwork

21. The Paper Trail The IECEx paper trail is satisfactory for ATEX
Most forms of paper trail devised for ATEX would not be acceptable for IECEx
It is not unknown for a European Notified Body to refuse to release the report to its customer !

22. The Baseefa Philosophy Production Control
All work being done for ATEX QANs is being reported in a format acceptable for an IECEx QAR
The customer gets exactly two for the price of one
We do no extra work, so there is no extra charge

23. The Baseefa Philosophy Design Test and Assessment
If our customers are able to use standards acceptable to IECEx there is no extra charge for the technical work
There are additional sheets of paper to cover ATEX and IECEx, but the cost is minimal for most projects

24. IECEx plus ATEX The Benefits
For very little extra cost
Future proofed acceptability throughout the world as the IECEx Scheme grows
Legal acceptability in Europe